At 20 years old, Carmine Picone is no stranger to change. His high school years were a frequent game of adjustment — new schools, cities, and challenges. What changed for him the most wasn’t just the people or places, but the educational opportunities.
As a freshman, Picone started at George Washington Carver High School of Engineering and Science, where science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education was embedded in the culture. There, he had access to advanced coursework, extracurriculars, and networking with like-minded peers.
Then his family relocated to Bethlehem, Pa. In his sophomore and junior years, he found STEM resources were less accessible at Liberty High school.
Moving back to Philadelphia in his senior year shifted the landscape for Picone yet again. This time, he struggled to find his footing at Frankford High School.
Unlike the magnet school George Washington Carver, with its renowned annual science fair, ample STEM opportunities, and 98% graduation rate, Frankford High was more limited due to budget constraints, dwindling resources, and a 53% graduation rate, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Picone was interested in pursuing a pre-medicine track in college, but Frankford lacked the STEM programs and advanced curricula to prepare him.
“There were very few students taking AP courses at Frankford,” Picone said. “I was one of four to five students that had attended these classes.”
Picone’s experience mirrors the significant challenges some Philadelphia public school students face pursuing STEM careers due to limited access to advanced classes, hands-on laboratory experience, and mentorship opportunities.
When Picone joined the Outreach, Education, and Research program at the University of Pennsylvania, he felt like he couldn’t keep up with his peers.
“I just think there was a big educational gap,” Picone said. “During lab meetings when I would present, I wasn’t confident and was often contested. …My inability to understand was discouraging.”
Like Picone, many students find themselves unprepared for the rigorous and competitive nature of college STEM programs and research environments after graduating from Philadelphia’s public school system. Magnet schools have significantly higher graduation rates and college enrollment rates compared to other public schools.
Joseph Sageman, who is pursuing a doctorate in sociology at Princeton University, studied this disparity in a 2024 analysis published in The Conversation. His research found two types of schools: “criteria-based” schools, where students need certain GPAs and test scores for enrollment, and “open-access” schools, which offer less competitive environments where students are enrolled based on location.
“Criteria-based and open-access schools have very different structures in place – specifically around curricula and counseling – designed to position their students for success after graduation,” Sageman wrote.
According to Sageman, 2023 graduates of criteria-based schools were twice as likely to attend college as graduates of open-access schools.
Another factor that affects STEM opportunities at Philadelphia public schools is funding. A 2023 report from Pennsylvania State University professor Matthew Kelly found that Pennsylvania school districts were underfunded by $6.2 billion.
In Philadelphia, funding challenges have affected a series of after-school programs. For example, Bodine High School’s robotics team was discontinued in 2024 as part of a widespread slashing of after-school programs across the city. The Philadelphia Inquirer found students were devastated by the loss of such a valuable program that helped students discover their passions.
“I would not have picked to major in STEM if I didn’t do robotics,” student Sydney Le told The Inquirer.
Some students have taken their own initiative. Picone created SOAR (Student Outreach and Advancement Resource) to help prevent other students from feeling unprepared. The platform connects students to STEM opportunities, mentorship programs, and college resources across disciplines, including biology, engineering, art, and medicine.
Another program in the Philadelphia region comes from West Chester University physics professor Brandon Mitchell, who founded the Center for STEM Inclusion. He focuses on bringing more students from underrepresented communities into fields of science and technology.
Like Picone, Mitchell attended a diverse public high school with mostly students of color who had few chances to pursue STEM.
“Growing up in an under-resourced school, I saw many of my friends develop a strong interest in STEM during adolescence, only to lose that passion over time,” said Mitchell, who attended high school in Rochester, N.Y. “Many of them decided to start working right after high school to support themselves or their families. It was tough, because I knew they had the potential to make a much greater impact and, in the long run, earn more for themselves and their loved ones if they had been given the right opportunities and support.”
At West Chester University, he noticed the school’s gap in community outreach to high schools in the region. Mitchell said that now, one of his strongest partnerships is with Heights Philadelphia, a nonprofit created to support students from low-income communities who are Black or brown or who are the first in their families to go to college.
He said he initially reached out to schools such as George Washington Carver, Central High School, and the Julia R. Masterman school.
“Four years later, we worked together to support students across Philadelphia, from Lincoln High School to as far north as George Washington High School,” Mitchell said.
He was able to invite a variety of students from different schools to the university campus to provide an introduction into STEM careers and networking.
“We want to lay out the options,” Mitchell said. “I want them to be aware and educated on the STEM workforce, and to follow up on their interest in the future. I like hearing students start careers from our work.”